Laura Joh Rowland Livres

A compelling murder mystery set in seventeenth-century Japan, filled with finely drawn characters and suspenseful plot twists, Laura Joh Rowland's The Samurai's Wife is a novel as complex, vivid, and artful as the glorious, lost world it portrays. Far from the Shogun's court at Edo, Most Honorable Investigator Sano Ichiro begins the most challenging case of his career. Upon the insistence of his strong-willed and beautiful wife Reiko, Sano arrives with her at the emperor's palace to unmask the murderer--who possesses the secret of kiai, "the spirit city," a powerful scream that can kill instantly. A high Kyoto official is the victim. Treading carefully through a web of spies, political intrigue, forbidden passions, and intricate plots, Sano and Reiko must struggle to stay ahead of the palace storm--and outwit a cunning killer. But as they soon discover, solving the case means more than their survival. For if they fail, Japan could be consumed in the bloodiest war it has ever seen...

The Ronin's Mistress is a brilliant new twist on the fabled tale of the 47 Ronin, from Laura Joh Rowland--an author with "a painter's eye for the minutiae of court life [and] a politician's ear for intrigue." (The New York Times) Japan, 1703. On a snowy night, 47 warriors murder the man at the center of the scandal that turned them from samurai into masterless ronin two years before. Clearly this was an act of revenge--but why did they wait so long? And is there any reason they should not immediately be ordered to commit ritual suicide? Sano Ichiro, demoted from Chamberlain to his old post as Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, has mere days to solve the greatest mystery of samurai legend--while his own fortunes hang in the balance.

In 1690 Nagasaki, Samurai detective Sano Ichiro investigates the murder of a Dutch trader, a case that could lead Japan to war. Framed for treason, Sano must uncover the killer to clear his name before facing execution.

In the wake of a terrifying earthquake, Sano Ichir No races to solve a crime that could bring down the shogun's regimeJapan, 1703. A devastating earthquake has left the city of Edo in shambles - even the shogun's carefully regulated court is teetering on the brink of chaos. This is no time for a murder investigation.

Riveting and richly imagined, with a magnificent sense of time and place, The Iris Fan is the triumphant conclusion to Laura Joh Rowland's brilliant series of thrillers set in feudal Japan. Japan, 1709. The shogun is old and ailing. Amid the ever-treacherous intrigue in the court, Sano Ichiro has been demoted from chamberlain to a lowly patrol guard. His relationship with his wife Reiko is in tatters, and a bizarre new alliance between his two enemies Yanagisawa and Lord Ienobu has left him puzzled and wary. Sano's onetime friend Hirata is a reluctant conspirator in a plot against the ruling regime. Yet, Sano's dedication to the Way of the Warrior—the samurai code of honor—is undiminished. Then a harrowing, almost inconceivable crime takes place. In his own palace, the shogun is stabbed with a fan made of painted silk with sharp-pointed iron ribs. Sano is restored to the rank of chief investigator to find the culprit. This is the most significant, and most dangerous, investigation of his career. If the shogun's heir is displeased, he will have Sano and his family put to death without waiting for the shogun's permission, then worry about the consequences later. And Sano has enemies of his own, as well as unexpected allies. As the previously unimaginable death of the shogun seems ever more possible, Sano finds himself at the center of warring forces that threaten not only his own family but Japan itself.

In September 1693, Sano Ichiro investigates a triple murder linked to a fire at the Black Lotus Temple, where the victims were found dead, but not from the blaze. His search for the killer puts him at odds with his wife, Reiko.

Japan 1698. Sano Ichirô, Samurai, oberster Ermittler und Ratgeber des Shôgun, hat Neider am Hof von Edo, die seinen wachsenden Einfluss fürchten. Da geschieht ein grausamer Mord: Fürst Mori, der Erbe des Shogun, wird tot und verstümmelt aufgefunden, neben ihm Sanos schwangere Frau Reiko, nackt und blutverschmiert. Sano selbst hat Schwierigkeiten, Reikos Erklärungen Glauben zu schenken. Dennoch versucht er, die Wahrheit hinter den Aussagen der Verdächtigen zu ergründen. Seine einzige Spur ist eine weiße Chrysantheme - rot gefärbt mit Blut.

Japan, 1699. On a moonlit night in Ezogashima, the northernmost island of Japan, a woman is running through the forest when an arrow zooms out of the darkness to strike her dead. Meanwhile, a world away in the city of Edo, the eight-year-old son of Sano Ichiro, the samurai detective who has risen to power and influence in the shogun's court, vanishes during a moon-watching party. When Sano's political rival, Lord Matsudaira, hints that the boy may be in Ezogashima, Sano's wife, Reiko, insists on accompanying him on the desperate journey. After an eleven-day voyage through cold and treacherous waters, they arrive at Ezogashima, only to find that Lord Matsumae, distraught at the murder of his mistress, is holding the whole province hostage until someone confesses to the crime. No one is allowed in or out of Ezogashima, and although Matsumae tells Sano his son is there, he refuses to release him. Sano strikes a deal: He will solve the murder of Matsumae's mistress if Lord Matsumae will free the hostages and return their son. Soon, however, he and Reiko find themselves caught up in a dangerous scheme that includes clan warfare, jealous husbands, and murderous betrayal

In the aftermath of a woman's brutal attack in 1701 Japan, samurai detective turned chamberlain Sano Ichiro suspects the true motives of a formerly exiled rival who has been oddly cooperative, a situation that is further complicated by a relative's disappearance

Set in the exotic backdrop of seventeenth-century Japan, this novel weaves a captivating mystery that promises grand entertainment. The narrative unfolds through the eyes of Lady Wisteria, immersing readers in a richly detailed historical context filled with intrigue and cultural nuances. Rowland's storytelling combines vivid imagery with a compelling plot, ensuring an engaging experience for fans of historical mysteries.